Differential Recovery ofStreptococcus mutansfromVarious Mitis-Salivarius AgarPreparations

Streptococcus mutanshasbeenimplicated by manyinvestigators tobecausally associated withhumandental caries (3, 6,7,9).Ofcritical importance inmanyofthese studies wasthe ability todistinguish S.mutansfromother oral streptococci bytheformation ofaunique typeof colony ontheselective differential mediummitis-salivarius (MS)agar(2,5,8).Duringa long-term study designed toevaluate therelationship between dental plaque anddental caries, differences intherecoveries ofS.mutans fromthesamedental plaque sample wereobseryed whenthesample wasplated ontoMS agarobtained fromBaltimore Biological Laboratories (BBL), Cockeysville, Md.,andfrom